TikTok Faces Legal Battle Over U.S. Government's Alleged Ban on Platform

MARKET

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Investors Feeling Bullish as Stocks Rise on Big Rate Cut Expectations

U.S. stocks experienced a fifth consecutive growth day, with anticipation of up to a 50-basis point Federal Reserve rate cut powering the rally. With the tech sector leading the ascent, yields reached a new 52-week low. Several sectors showed vigorous gains which resulted in an overall 4% growth for the week. While the market expects a rate cut to boost the economy, experts advise that gradual rate cuts tend to yield better stock performance.

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Adobe Down 8%, Warner Bros. Soars 10%, Uber Expands Autonomous Drive

Adobe shares dipped 8% due to its "light" Q4 revenue forecast despite surpassing Q3 estimates. Warner Bros. Discovery soared 10% following a multi-year distribution agreement with Charter Communications. On the other hand, Uber saw a 5% increase after revealing a partnership with Waymo for autonomous ride-hailing in Austin and Atlanta by early 2025, causing Lyft shares to sink by nearly 5%. Lastly, ARM's shares climbed 5.88% after Raymond James initiated a $160 price target for the company.

Upwork Shares Skyrocket Amid Engine Capital's Calls for Improvement (3 minutes read)

Shares of online work marketplace, Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK), have surged 9.5% after Engine Capital, an investor owning roughly 3.5% of UPWK shares, expressed concerns about the company's management strategies and proposed measures. Suggestions included management reshuffling, cost optimization, and aggressive buybacks to improve shareholder value. Moreover, Upwork's shares have been noted for their high volatility.

TECH BRIEF

Google's DataGemma AI Aims to Counter Inaccurate Language Model Answers (7 minutes read)

Google has launched DataGemma, an AI solution designed to address the issue of hallucinations — inaccurate answers provided by large language models (LLMs) in response to statistical queries. Part of the open-source Gemma family, the new models utilize wide-ranging real-world data from the Google-created Data Commons platform. Two approaches, Retrieval Interleaved Generation (RIG) and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), are used to enhance factual accuracy. Google hopes that making DataGemma publicly available will spur further research and the development of stronger models.

TikTok Faces Legal Battle Over U.S. Government's Alleged Ban on Platform (20 minutes read)

TikTok's legal battle against a potential U.S. ban will be discussed next week, where the court will hear arguments regarding legislation that TikTok claims violates its First Amendment rights. The U.S. Government, citing national security concerns, claims that TikTok represents a clear threat. TikTok argues that the government's defense contains errors and the prohibition is unnecessary. An appeal to the Supreme Court may follow if the court rules in favor of the government. The consequences of the election could also influence whether the law is implemented.

Musk's Platform X Escapes EU Big Tech Crackdown; Disinformation Scrutiny Looms (4 minutes read)

Elon Musk's social media platform, X, is poised to sidestep the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), designed to control tech giants. Considered too small to impact EU markets significantly, X does not meet business users or revenue criteria. However, it still faces scrutiny for allegedly failing to tackle harmful content, potentially leading to fines under the EU's Digital Services Act. The European Commission is expected to announce its findings next month.

Insight Partners Poised to Seal $10 Billion Tech-Focused Venture Fund (3 minutes read)

Insight Partners is set to close a $10 billion-plus venture capital fund, indicating a revival in the tech investor activity. The final figure could reach $12 billion, with closure expected in 2025. The development follows a decline in the VC market since 2022, with a resurgence in deal-making easing pressures on the VC sector. Insight had previously raised $20 billion in 2022, but reduced targets after only raising $2 billion in 2023.

CoreWeave Preps for $23Bn Share Sale, Eyes Initial Public Offering (3 minutes read)

CoreWeave, a leading AI cloud computing firm, is negotiating a share sale that could value it at $23 billion, enabling existing stakeholders to sell securities between $400-500 million. This valuation represents a significant increase from its $19.1 billion price in May and comes as CoreWeave contemplates a potential IPO in the coming year. The company is leveraging Nvidia’s processors to build AI-focused data centers.

Widespread Bug Causes Google Search App to Crash on Android Devices (2 minutes read)

A recent widespread bug has caused Google Search app on Android to continually crash during attempted searches. All Android devices, including Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy, are affected. Though Google Assistant, Gemini, Google Lens, and Circle to Search are still operational, no obvious fix for the issue has been identified. Google acknowledged the service disruption and is working to identify the root cause.

OpenAI Mulls Over Structural Change, Eyes $150 Billion Valuation (1 minute read)

OpenAI, the AI firm, is likely to revamp its corporate structure amid talks of raising $6.5 billion at a $150 billion valuation. The restructuring, contingent on the removal of a profit cap for investors, will transition OpenAI from a nonprofit-controlled for-profit entity to a conventional for-profit model, addressing investor concerns.